Mac malware reportedly grew faster than Windows malware in 2019

Windows has had the reputation of being the biggest target of viruses, trojans, and all sorts of malware, particularly because of how easy it has been to get through the OS’ defenses. To some extent, that’s still true, especially because of the number of potential victims throughout the world. The winds of change are blowing, though, even in the malware industry and it seems that, at least for 2019, Macs have outpaced their Windows counterparts when it comes to the growing number of malware and attacks that threatened Apple’s desktops and laptops.

It’s not that Mac malware now outnumbers Windows ones. That will probably never happen considering the payoffs of targeting Windows and, at times, Android may be higher than attacking Macs. Still, Malwarebytes’ most recent “State of Malware” report claims that Mac threats increased by more than 400% in 2019, with 11 threats per Mac endpoint compared to 5.8 threats per Windows endpoint.

This could be a sign of a shift in the malware market when it comes to focus, not to mention the thrill of the challenge of compromising the usually hardened macOS operating system. The attacks on businesses have increased significantly last year and it is one area where Macs are often used in professional settings.

Ransomware has also become common and we have seen many such incidents on Macs. It is a profitable business, after all, with many users being duped into paying a fee with on assurance of regaining access to their files. Adware is, of course, still the most rampant form of malware, probably because of how easy it is to serve ads and deceive users into clicking or tapping such deceptive software.

Malware has never really gone away, it has only changed its face. Unfortunately, the old guards that once promised to keep computers safe from viruses have now themselves become alleged perpetrators and violators, usually when user privacy is involved.